Like Snow
by VanilllaBean
Summary: "My heart is not made of ice, like you think it is. Ice is much more stubborn. No…my heart is like snow. Cold but inviting and soft…and when warmth is offered upon it…it melts away. So why can't you see that warmth isn't good for me!" NaruSaku.DROPPED
1. Imperfections

**A/N: Hi! This is my very first Naruto fanfiction, and I'm kinda new at this, BUT I'm hoping you guys don't think it's too bad! Let me know with reviews please(:**

**Disclaimer: I can only wish I owned Naruto...**

**Like Snow**

_"Naruto…I-I love you!" _

_It had been snowing when she first confessed. The situation Sakura was faced with had caused her to truly open her eyes and finally see that what she had been longing for had been right in front of her this whole time. She had her head down. _

_She continued, "You're the only one who stood by my side, you've never betrayed me and…and you even risked your life for me many times!"_

_Her jade eyes had not once made contact with the owner of the surprised cerulean eyes, who was standing in front of her. _

_"I…I don't know what took so long for me to realize this…and just thinking about it…makes me feel horrible for the way I've treated you…" she trailed off as sadness and guilt started peeking their ugly faces into her emotional confession. _

_"Sasuke," the blonde noticed how she had dropped the symbolic honorific which she had used for many many painful years, "has done nothing but hurt me, and yet…you've always comforted me, and I realized that's what I've been chasing for this whole time…someone who can return my feelings…so that's why, Naruto. That's why I'm offering my feelings to you…in hopes that you can return them too." She shyly looked up to smile a soft smile at him, with an ever so faint hue of pink creeping across her cheeks. It was the first time she had ever felt such genuine love for her blonde-haired teammate._

_Of course, they were not alone during this little confrontation. Oh, no no. In fact, they even had an audience; one consisting of Kakashi, Yamato, Kiba, and Akamaru even. It was around the same time after the village had been attacked by Pain and Tsunade had slipped into her comatose state. Something arose inside Sakura, a new thought had dawned upon her during this disastrous time. She took time to think clearly about her feelings and to whom they were directed at, and boy was she surprised at her own conclusion. And so, she stood there, in front of her only true remaining teammate, with the worst case of butterflies in her stomach as she waited for his reaction. Slowly but surely, the words of the kunoichi reached Naruto's ears, went through to his brain, and were, for some reason, painfully analyzed. The only things that went through his mind the whole time of her confession were flashbacks of the many times Sakura expressed her love for Sasuke, how Naruto had made the promise of a lifetime just to bring Sakura's love back, how she had been so broken over Sasuke. He couldn't believe it at all! What he said next was a shocker to everyone._

_"Sakura-chan, this is no time for jokes! This isn't funny at all, so stop it."_

_All Sakura could do was stare at him for an awkward few minutes._

_She protested, "But Naruto, don't you get what I'm saying? I don't love Sasuke anymore…I want you Naruto. You don't have to risk your life anymore and you don't have to fulfill your promise…and you also don't have to be alone anymore…" tears had started collecting at the corners of her eyes, and she knew she had hit a soft spot. Kakashi, who was watching the whole tense situation, couldn't help but feel proud of Sakura for choosing her path, yet he felt somehow sad for her and pitied her. Before anyone could interrupt what was about to be a very distasteful ending to this scene, Naruto's hoarse voice spoke up, "I…I hate people who lie to themselves!" his voice booming by the time he finished his sentence, his head lowered and his gaze on the ground. He could never believe that his childhood crush has finally chosen now to return his feelings. Why should he? She was always so devoted to Sasuke, why would he believe her now, that she had changed her heart for him? Maybe Sakura didn't know what she was saying. Maybe she was under too much stress. Maybe she just needed time to clear her thoughts up before realizing that Sasuke was the one she truly loved…not him. Or maybe Naruto was in denial. _

_And that was it. The dangerously impatient tears that she had been holding back now slowly poured down her cheeks, as she stood there, wide-eyed from the shock of being called a liar…by none other than the person she cared for the most._

* * *

Three years had crawled by since Pain had attacked Konoha. The members of Team 7 had drastically changed since; they were now 18. Now, we're talking about DRAMATIC changes, as in Sasuke realizing his mistakes and being dragged home, Naruto surpassing his own teacher, and Sakura…well she was definitely no longer the silly little girl that trailed after her precious 'Sasuke-kun', although that point was clear enough when she made her confession to Naruto. No siree. She was becoming an independent young woman, who had begun thinking more realistic, rather than stupidly daydreaming all day, and one who had become rather considerate. And out of all three members, she was the one to change almost to the point of no recognition, personality-wise.

She still looked the same however. She had grown more womanly, accumulating all the right curves in all the right places. Her once luscious, crazy colored pink hair had toned down to a light baby pink and grew to just a few inches past her waist. Her face had grown more pointedly instead of the chubby baby fat that used to control her features. She had dangerously light green eyes that lost their polished shine, and extremely long, dark black lashes. Her once pale and thin lips grew into their full potential; full and juicy, the same color as her hair. Overall, she hadn't become pretty, but gorgeous, only a rival to that of her best friend Ino. The only sad part about her major changes was that her eyes lacked their usual luster, instead covered by a hollow, glassy exterior. Her eyes truly were the windows to her soul, depicting a fallen and fragile doll on the inside. She refused to let anyone near her heart again, and so never really became close with anyone in the village, save for Ino and Tsunade.

But there was something about Sakura's personality that didn't correspond with her beautiful features. She was quiet. More quiet than she used to be. Hell, her quietness can rival with that of Sasuke's now, and that's saying a lot. But when she did talk, she spoke with a quiet but dignified voice; one that was stern but had hints of sadness and, dare I say it, love. She still had love for her village and everyone in it. This part of Sakura was the only part of her old self that she was desperately clinging onto; it was the charming part of her that made her approachable and also respectable.

Despite her soft and lost appearance, Sakura's skills were to the point where she can finally, _finally_ catch up with her two teammates. She wasted absolutely no time these past three years. Training, mastering medic jutsus, more training with Tsunade. She had no time for a social life, but somehow, she liked it like this. It just meant that less people would ask her why she's been so lifeless lately. She figured if she doesn't make too many appearances, people would eventually forget about her. So she kept herself preoccupied with becoming the best she can be. And she definitely accomplished that too; she was now a proud member of the ANBU. But that wasn't all, she had become the top medic-nin of the whole village, second to Tsunade. But no matter how hard she had tried, her teammates, would always remain a step ahead, but she supposed that was better than the time it had been five steps ahead.

Naruto had become the chief of the whole ANBU department. Well, one may ask how in the world this nutcase got there. Over the years, he hadn't been wasting time either. He had grown into quite the handsome devil, you can even say he's a mirror image of the Fourth Hokage himself. His now smaller eyes still held the never-ending charm that they always held. His hair was longer now and his body had become well-toned yet lean. He had grown mentally as well, meaning that he had finally matured from his previous childish manner. However, the inner child in him does tend to pop up at times. Okay, MANY times. But he can actually be all serious when it gets down to business. Despite his past history with the villagers, he was now looked upon as a hero for saving them from Pain. And he had also caught the attention of many, many girls, something that he is a bit too slow to realize, but maybe it's for the better. However, Naruto isn't all about just looks, underneath that cool demeanor of his, is a powerful new Naruto that had trained his ass off getting to where he is now. He is slowly making his way to his dream; becoming the Hokage.

Sasuke…well what CAN change about him? He is still the cold bastard that he was before he left Konoha. His lifeless onyx eyes kept their cold demeanor and his body was also toned and perfect muscles were visible in all the right places. He'd been back for 5 months now. Tsunade had given him 2 years of probation and put him under house arrest. It's funny because…his rank was still a Genin while his two teammates had by far surpassed Jounins. Tsunade, however, refused a higher title to him until all charges against him had been overlooked and he proved himself trustworthy again. Not that he cared about being trusted by the village again. He was not at peace even after killing his brother. Instead, he may even be more lost now, but at least he has come back to the one place he can truly ever call home. He has Naruto to thank for that, although he never will thank him in person. Naruto had found his almost-dead and mangled body after his fight with Itachi, while he was on his way home from a long-journey mission. Thankfully, Naruto had beaten Madara to it and brought Sasuke back. Was Sakura surprised? Yes, because truthfully, she had never thought that such a cold-blooded _thing _like Sasuke would ever return. Was she happy? No, because she only thought of him as a teammate now and it didn't really make a difference if he was back or not because it's not like they talk much anyway.

And those were the painful imperfections of Team 7. The changes, the pain, and the scarce happiness that they all went through together.

* * *

It was 5:36AM and Sakura found herself sitting on her window sill, staring out into the early dusk, as she had done many nights before. She couldn't do anything but think. Think of all the reasons her life was not perfect. Think of all the people that were missing in her life. Think about Naruto. She still got butterflies in her stomach whenever she thought of the ever outgoing ninja. After she had confessed her love to him those years ago, and after said love had been called a lie, she had went and talked to him alone. She told him that she was just confused about her feelings and that she didn't exactly know what she was saying earlier. Naruto quickly understood and held nothing against her. Sakura had asked, timidly, if their friendship was still intact, and the blonde replied with his trademark grin saying, "Of course Sakura-chan! No way will it ever be ruined." At this, the kunoichi had to smile back. But Sakura had lied to Naruto that day. She knew exactly what she was saying. But she didn't want Naruto to know that she still loved him to this very day; she didn't know if she can handle any more stabs to her heart. Sakura had told herself that she would sacrifice her love for him, if it means that he can be happy.

With a deep sigh, she reluctantly got up from her position and made her way to the bathroom; afterall, she would have to do her 12 hour shift at the hospital soon. She decided to take a very long shower, since her shift didn't start until 7. After a good 20 minute shower, she stepped outside of the bathroom and quickly dressed herself in her usual hospital attire; a tight white coat that came to her waist and a white mini skirt. _How cliché, _she thought to herself, amused at her outfit. She slipped on her black boots, tied her hair into a long ponytail and walked out of her house. _I should've eaten breakfast, _she mentally scolded herself when she noticed her stomach grumble, _WHO knows when the next time I'll lay eyes on food will be. _She passed through her usual route to the hospital and said a few polite hello's here and there. She wanted to get to the hospital quickly, so as to avoid too many collisions with the village people, or worse…people she KNEW. _Ugh, they'll be on my case for hours and hours! _She sighed.

She was just about to enter the hospital doors when she heard an all too familiar voice call out from behind her, "Sakura?"

Sakura immediately inwardly winced, this was not good. If he was here…then surely HE was here too…

* * *

**Please review so I can know what to improve on! Thanks :D and hope you enjoyed it SO far.**


	2. A Deal

**A/N: Sooo, I'm still tryna figure out most of the plot, BUT, I'm getttting there :D These first few beginning chapters are just to show the character's feelings.**

**Disclaimer: Once again, I only dream of ever owning Naruto...**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Sakura?"

She had no way of escaping this very uncomfortable situation. Slowly, she looked behind her shoulder to see none other than the man whose voice just said her name.

"Good morning, Sasuke." She nodded at him, her face a blank expression. She didn't even ask why he was out when he was clearly supposed to be under house arrest.

Sakura waited in silence for the voice of the other man, she knew it was coming.

"What are you doing out so early?" Sasuke continued to pry open Sakura's mouth for some sort of reply.

"In case it wasn't obvious enough, I work at the hospital and I am now beginning my morning shift." She stated, in a monotone voice.

Sasuke, who seemed to sense her hostility, was about to voice another question, something about what the hell happened to her these days, but was rudely interrupted by our favorite hero.

"Teme, why are you just standing in the middle of - " his blue eyes widened, "Sakura!" and his face broke out into his usual grin.

"Good morning Sakura! I haven't seen you in a while, what are you up to these-"

Sakura cut him off and quietly said, "Work. See you guys later." before leaving into the hospital. Neither of the young men could see the tears threatening to fall down their pink-haired teammate's face. While Sasuke shrugged it off and began walking into the hospital for one of his weekly checkups-his sharingan had been provoking his eyes ever since his battle with Itachi-Naruto stood still, watching Sakura's small figure walk away until she was out of sight, with a sad glint in his eyes and his bright smile faded.

"Dobe, you aren't my personal 'escort' for nothing. You have to stick with me so I don't 'escape from my deserved punishment'. Let's go." Sasuke said with annoyance and sarcasm; he had directly quoted exactly what Tsunade had told them both.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm coming." Naruto replied, clearly distracted with what had just happened. _Why doesn't Sakura-chan talk to me anymore?_ He thought as he caught up with Sasuke. Once he caught up with his best friend and fell into step with him, Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. _I thought we said our friendship will never be ruined?_

* * *

Sakura quickly slipped into her personal office, closed the door and sighed. She angrily rubbed her eyes, mad that Naruto was still the only one to ever bring up so many emotions in her at the same time. How long has it been since she saw him? Ever since he brought back Sasuke? That couldn't have been less than 5 months ago. She had avoided Naruto as much as possible ever since she had told him of her feelings. Not because it was awkward or anything, but because it was too painful for Sakura to be around him; she'd wonder if her love wasn't true enough to be believable?

She could never blame Naruto or get mad at for what he did. _I mean, I'd react the same way he did too. _She sighed again, something she seemed to have been doing a lot lately. _If only I hadn't been so hell-bent on Sasuke…then maybe…Naruto would have known that my love was real. _

She took a clipboard from her desk and mentally made a checklist of who her patients were for the day. She left her room and headed for the room of her first patient. On her way there, she let her mind wander. She couldn't help but think of the way he had said her name. He sounded happy to see her, but any hopes that thought might have brought were quickly torn apart and stomped on as Sakura told herself, _he sounded happy because I'm his _friend _and _teammate_. _

But there was another thing about how he said her name. How can Sakura forget _that_? After all, she was the one that kindly requested that Naruto should not call her with "chan" at the end. When he was beyond shocked, flabbergasted, and asked her WHY, she had told him that it had made her feel like a child, and quite frankly, she did not like that. Unwillingly, Naruto had given in and it had taken a while for him to get used to saying her name like that. Albeit, the "chan" slipped from him many times the first few days, but eventually he caught on.

But that was not the only reason Sakura had asked that of him. She knew she asked that because she wanted to make this as painless as possible and did not want to hear any sort of affection from him, so as to not get her hopes up every time he called her affectionately, but not in the way that she had always hoped of.

Sakura was so dazed into her thinking that, while climbing the stairs and turning around the corner to climb the second flight, she had not noticed the man walking towards her and bumped directly into his hard, muscular chest. She lost her balance and was about to bust her head open, but before she could hit the ground, two strong arms caught her, bridal style.

Shocked and angry at herself for being an ANBU and yet, not being able to watch where the hell she was walking, she looked up to see a pair of ocean blue eyes looking back at her.

* * *

Naruto had been lost in thought the whole time they were at the hospital. His sudden quietness had caught Sasuke's attention but he made no remark on it; it was better to savor the rare peacefulness rather than bring on something he didn't want onto himself.

After Sasuke's eye checkup had been completed, they started walking out, but the only way to do that was to take the stairs of course! Naruto, still lost and fazed, didn't see the fragile body that he had come into contact with, and acting upon instincts, immediately caught the woman; his right arm under her knees and left arm under her neck.

"Sa…kura…chan?" Naruto managed to whisper out, _oops. She's not gonna like that…_

Sakura's eyes slowly widened as realization dawned upon her. She was in _Naruto's _arms. No, not some random man, but Naruto's. Oh, how she wished it was some stranger instead.

She was lost in his calculating gaze; his deep blue eyes were too much for her. And there was also his damn chest. _Why does it have to be so damn muscular…and nice…and well toned…_

Sakura caught herself before she started to drool.

"Oh! S-sorry Naruto, I wasn't, uh, w-watching where I was going." She managed to play off coolly, but she just couldn't stop herself from stuttering.

She immediately jumped out of Naruto's arms and regained her balance. "And Naruto," she said as she was fixing her skirt and coat, "how many times do I have to tell you?" Her warning voice.

All Naruto could say was, "Gomen, Sakura."

"Well then, I'm awfully busy so I'll be going now." She continued and started walking up the stairs again.

But Naruto wasn't about to let her go so easily yet. "Wait, Sak-" He called out from behind her.

She half-heartedly raised her hand to say bye, "Ja Ne."

_Another missed chance…_thought Naruto.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Naruto and Sasuke had decided on eating at Ichiraku's for lunch and were now sitting there, waiting for their meal. Well, it wasn't as if Sasuke actually suggested this place…or voted to go there for all it matters. He was practically dragged there and was left with no choice.

Yes, Sasuke was under house arrest.

No, he doesn't give a damn that he's breaking the rules. After all, it really pays off to have an ANBU bestfriend.

Smirk.

"Soooo dobe," Sasuke said as he was about to take a bite of his ramen. He made sure Naruto was listening…even if he had food in his mouth.

"Hm?" Naruto mumbled out.

"I'm planning on marrying Sakura and rebuild my clan." Sasuke had said it so simply, you can't help but think he's up to something, and he took that bite of ramen.

Naruto coughed. More than cough actually, he was choking now.

Another smirk.

"W-what the hell?" Naruto managed to yell out.

"Is there something wrong?" That stupid smirk was played on Sasuke's face the whole time.

Naruto regained his composure and mentally calmed himself down.

"Yeah, actually there is." He said and then slammed his fist down on the table and turned to look at Sasuke.

"Like HELL, I'll let _that _happen."

"I don't see what's wrong about it. I mean, since she's always loved me and all…maybe it's time I give her what she's always wanted."

"News flash teme: Sakura-chan does _not _love you anymore, so heh, good luck with that." He went back to eating his ramen.

"Hn. What are _you _so worried about. It doesn't concern you anyway, unless…" Oh was Sasuke feeling e-v-i-l today.

"you don't happen to be _jealous_, do you Naruto?"

Naruto set his chopsticks down. His hair covered his eyes so that you couldn't see them, and his head was still down. Now it was Naruto's turn to smirk.

"Ne, teme?" He looked up at Sasuke with a demonic glint in his dangerously narrowed eye, smirk still in place. "You wanna settle this over a little sparring?" He knew Sasuke would never deny a challenge, after all, being the men that these two are, they'll always be finding ways to prove that one is better than the other. And this time, they seem to have found Sakura as one of those challenges.

But Naruto didn't know the game that Sasuke was playing. Instead, he remained clueless and just felt like ripping that arrogant Uchiha bastard into little, tiny pieces. _He wants to make babies with Sakura-chan now does he? _Naruto's smirk grew bigger. _Let's see how you make little Uchiha brats after I'm done with you, teme. _

"Deal."

* * *

**Aaaand that's the end of the second chapter! Sorry, if it's a littttle short, but yeah, I'm still trying to develop the story a little bit moree T.T**

**and to my VERY FIRST REVIEWER: YES, that was my goal from the very beginning, to make this fic as realistic as possible! I'm soo glad you noticed :D**

**I'll try to update sooon! So please review and lemme know if you like it so far :D**


	3. Reconcile

**A/N: Yay! I have a clearer image of what I'm gonna do for the plot! :D but omg, I kinda suck at fighting scenes -_- I hope you guys don't mind! And thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I own Naruto...in my dreams. T.T**

**Chapter 3**

_Tch. He's not taking this lightly, _Sasuke thought to himself as he dodged another one of Naruto's kicks to the head. They've been sparring for 2 continuous hours now. Sasuke couldn't believe that Naruto could keep up with his speed. Sasuke jumped back to avoid Naruto's punch only to find that he had disappeared and reappeared behind his back. Sasuke's eyes widened a tiny fraction and before he could react, Naruto had kicked him into a nearby tree.

"Tch. Oi, teme, don't tell me that's all you got? What the hell have you been doing with Orochimaru this whole time? Sittin' around and braiding his hair?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he stood up and disappeared and meant to kick at Naruto's head from behind only to have his leg caught. Naruto looked back, smirked, and spun him around. Sasuke managed to land on his feet and blocked Naruto's punches as Naruto quickly took it as an opportunity to force him into defending. Finally, Sasuke managed to get a punch into Naruto's stomach, but not before realizing that it was a shadow clone.

Stunned for a few seconds, Sasuke began looking all around him for the real one. He was at a disadvantage without the Sharingan.

"Guess who won, teme."

_Crap._

Before Sasuke could even begin to react, Naruto had him in a headlock on the ground. He was grinning brightly as Sasuke muttered a chain of colorful words and gave into defeat. And that ended their little sparring session.

It infuriated Sasuke to no end that Naruto can defeat him now. He didn't like this one bit. But then again, Sasuke couldn't use his Sharingan and Naruto had the upperhand with the Kyuubi's help, so it wasn't the end of the world, yet.

As the two men sat on the ground at the very familiar training ground, catching their breath, Sasuke couldn't help but look down at the level of Naruto's idiocy. If there was one thing that Sasuke couldn't stand, it was when people are too dumb to understand what was going on. Sasuke opened his mouth to comment on his idiocy, but Naruto beat him to it.

"Teme. You better not touch Sakura-chan." Before Sasuke could say anything, Naruto continued, "I mean it." He turned his head to look at Sasuke with dangerously narrow eyes and probably the most serious face Naruto could ever make. "You don't deserve her."

"Care to tell me who _does _deserve her?"

Both young men look up to see Kakashi standing on a nearby branch, lost in the readings of his perverted book, but still paying attention to the conversation.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed with joy.

"Yo." Replied the older man, with his eye crinkled, indicating that he was smiling.

"Hn."

"Nice to see you too, Sasuke." He chuckled at the nostalgia and jumped down from the branch. But his face went back to seriousness once again as he continued talking.

"So Naruto, about my question."

"Huh? Oh…I guess…someone who loves her as much as she loves them." He looked down thoughtfully, "and someone who can always protect her, and never hurt her." He shot a glare at the Uchiha, who acted as if nothing happened.

"Someone," Kakashi started, "like you?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the thought. "But sensei! I've hurt her before…" he slowly lowered his head.

Kakashi sighed, "Naruto, didn't you like her?"

Naruto suddenly looked up, "I did! I mean, I still do, but-"

"Then what happened? Why didn't you accept her?"

"I…I didn't think I was right for her." His gaze fell to his feet.

Kakashi chuckled, "Well according to your own rules, you're the perfect one that deserves her."

What did Kakashi mean by that? Clearly Naruto had hurt her…so how does he still apply to his own rules?

Taking in his former student's confusion, Kakashi sighed, "Naruto, you may have temporarily hurt her, but the fact that you want to fix everything again falls in the category of protecting her and loving her as much as she loves you."

And with that, Kakashi walked away, burying his face in his book once again.

"Dobe, you still have time to get her. But lemme tell you this, Sakura has changed. I'm not gonna go around and play as your little matchmaker though," Sasuke stood up to leave, "you're on your own."

Naruto was left alone in the training grounds. He was lost in deep thought for a long time. He looked up to the sky, _Sakura-chan…I promise I'll make you happy again._

* * *

Sakura's long shift at the hospital was finally over and she was allowed to leave. She sighed; it had truly been a long day, with many interesting events. The sun had already set and the pink and orange hues of the sun's rays still lingered in the evening sky. She started making her way home, slowly, convincing herself that she had all the time in the world. She was so grateful for the day off tomorrow, since she'd be needing all the rest she can get after depleting her chakra so much today.

So it's no surprise that she was dead tired and practically walking like a zombie through the streets of Konoha. _Today was rough_, she inwardly winced. She spent 5 hours in the ER, working on a Jounin in critical condition after a mission went wrong. She was happy to be of help, however; seeing the person's thankful family made her day.

Thinking about her soft, soft bed at home and how good it would feel to be in it, she trudged along the pathway. Had she been at her full attention, she would have noticed the ANBU waiting for her.

* * *

Naruto had been leaning against a wall, arms folded. Instead of his usual ANBU outfit, he wore black sweats that came up to his knees, a black full sleeved turtle-neck shirt, and ninja sandals. Of course he wore his hitai-ate on his forehead too.

As soon as he saw Sakura approaching, he kicked off the wall with his foot and walked over to her. After getting a good look at her, an alarm went off in his head.

"Sakura, have you even eaten at all today?"

She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes when she murmured a quiet, "No…" She tried to suppress a yawn, but Naruto caught it. He sighed, _she's been overworking, as usual. _He hated how he barely saw her anymore, she'd always say she was busy working. Without saying another word, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her off to the nearest restaurant, which conveniently happened to be Ichiraku's.

Sakura had no energy left to protest so she decided to wait until they were sitting down to ask exactly what the hell he was doing. Once seating, Sakura popped the question up, "Naruto, what are you doing?" She looked at him from the corner of her eye.

Naruto, who was looking thoughtfully at the menu, smiled, and without looking at her he replied, "I'm taking care of you."

This time Sakura turned her head towards him and asked, "But why?" …desperation and confusion were evident in her eyes.

"Because you're too busy taking care of others," he put the menu down and turned to look at her in the eyes, a soft smile on his face, "so who's gonna take care of you?"

A pained expression flickered across Sakura's face. "Oh." She said dumbly. She didn't understand that Naruto was trying to say that he'd be there to take care of her all her life. But Naruto decided he'll wait until the day she understands what he meant.

Their meals were placed in front of them a few minutes after Naruto had ordered.

"Itadakimasu!" He said with his usual vigor and grin as he dug into his meal.

Sakura, with a small smile on her lips, quietly echoed him, "Itadakimasu."

The little dinner date went by smooth and for once, Sakura wasn't depressed with his presence. He had been kind and gentle with his words; he said nothing that would remind her of the past or bring up bad memories.

After he finished, he paid for both of their meals. He stood up and waited for Sakura to do the same.

He said, "I'll walk you home."

Sakura immediately protested, "Naruto, you don't have-"

"I want to." He cut her off, using a tone of authority to make it clear to her that there would be no more arguing.

Sakura looked at him for a second. There was something about the way the sunset colors illuminated his golden hair as it fell around his whiskered cheeks, and the way the colors mixed in with his bottomless blue eyes, that made it impossible for her to say no to him. She gave in and they both started walking towards her apartment.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Naruto was the first one to speak up. "Sakura, I don't like how unhappy you look."

Sakura's tired eyes widened in surprise at the blonde's straightforward and bland statement.

He continued, his gaze set on the path before them, "and knowing I'm the cause for it makes me feel like a bastard."

Sakura suddenly looked up at him and spoke up, "No Naruto! That's now how-"

"Let me finish, Sakura-chan."

She slowly nodded and lowered her head, suddenly finding the ground fascinating.

He continued, "I want you to know this right now," Naruto paused for a minute, trying to think of how to tell her just how much she meant to him. Before Naruto could start speaking again, something caught his attention. Sakura was falling back, the result of passing out, and he had caught her. Her chakra level was so low, he could barely make it out even when she was right there in his arms.

Naruto mentally cursed at himself, _I should have observed her more closely. _Frustrated at the fact that he hadn't noticed exactly how tired she looked and that she was practically dragging herself with every ounce of energy she had left, Naruto just lifted her up so that her head was resting against his chest, as he made his way to her apartment.

Once he got inside, he laid her down on her own bed, and sat next to her on the edge. He observed every feature of her face. He slowly brushed away the few strands of pink hair on her cheek and his hand seemed to pause on her cheek all on its own. He caressed her cheek and his eyes held a look of longing, for her and her love.

For how many years had he seen the same cheeks, the same face? But why did it look so different up this close? He never felt so much love for her as he did when he saw how fragile she seemed to look at that very moment.

His eyes did not look at her with lust, but with true and genuine love. And that was when his face twisted its features into a look of determination. He was determined to forever protect and care for Sakura and he'd be damned if he broke his own self promise.

He bent over and placed a soft kiss on her forehead and whispered, "Good night…Sakura-chan," before getting up and leaving her apartment, with a content look.

* * *

**I'm actually getting a more excited about writing this story, since I got a new inspiration today :D**

**And for the people who take the time to review : THANK YOU so much! I take every review seriously and you guys keep me going ^.^**

**So please, review and let me know what you think!**


	4. Hidden Potential

**A/N: I was kind of confused on how to piece together things in this chapter, so it came out a bit...strained? ): But anywho! The bigger events are coming up soon :D I wanted to use this chapter to really show what a kickass ninja Sakura can be and I hope I did a good job on showing that ^.^**

**And also, I really wanna thank you guys for the positive reviews, you keep me motivated :D **

**Disclaimer: Once again, Kishimoto shattered my dream by making Naruto his.**

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* * *

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**Chapter 4**

_Don't go._

She was surrounded by complete darkness. Where was she? Why was she here?

_Please._

She heard a strong voice calling out to her, almost desperately. Somehow, she couldn't help but feel like going towards the voice. She would if she could but there was absolutely nothing around her and the voice seemed to be coming from nowhere.

Suddenly she saw a mirror. She saw her own reflection, but it wasn't really her. It was the 12 year old version of her. She looked much happier, and her happiness seemed to be radiating out towards her. But suddenly, the old her disappeared, and nothing was in the mirror. The mirror shattered, and she found herself screaming at the horror of the sight. For some reason, she felt as if her existence had shattered along with that mirror.

She started falling, she was terrified of the never ending fall.

_Don't go…please, don't._

She heard that voice again, and it seemed so sad and as if someone was mourning.

She felt like she was never going to stop falling, until, a hand reached out towards her and grabbed a hold of her own hand. At that exact moment, the darkness disappeared, and finally, for the first time in her life, she found light and it seemed to warm her skin.

* * *

Despite the peaceful ending to her nightmare/dream, Sakura woke up with a jerk. Her face was covered with sweat as she fluttered her eyes until she recognized where she was, only to stare at the familiar ceiling. She was in her own apartment. _But how? _She wondered. The last thing she remembered before blackness enveloped her was the steady heartbeat of…she gasped, _Naruto? _

She blushed at the thought. His heart's strong rhythm had lulled her into a deep sleep.

It was noon when she had woken up. She felt plenty rested and decided to spend most of her day training to polish up on her skills. She took her time to take her shower and get dressed. Today, instead of the usual hospital uniform, she wore her ANBU uniform.

After applying her chest bindings, she put on a tight white ANBU tank top that laced up in the front. She slipped on her black miniskirt and over it, she wore a long black skirt that flowed in the back and was open in the front. After she got her regular ninja boots on, she picked up the weapons she thought were necessary and made her way into the kitchen to grab a snack.

As she left her house, she tied her hair back into a long ponytail once again, and slipped on her hitai-ate in its usual place on her head. She paused and looked up into at the beautiful weather. She felt peaceful today, after finally being able to get a full night's rest, instead of waking up at unusual hours to stare out her window.

She made her way to the Hokage's tower, hoping that her shishou wouldn't be too busy to train her.

Standing outside the door to Tsunade's office, Sakura lightly knocked on it and got a gruff, "Come in!" in reply.

"Shishou, you wouldn't be too busy to train me today, would you?" Sakura carefully asked.

Tsunade sighed and said, "Gomen, Sakura, I have a lot to do today. Maybe another time." She gave her student an apologetic smile.

Sakura nodded in understanding and gave her a quick, "Hai," before leaving the office.

As Sakura closed the door, Tsunade couldn't keep the thought of how much her precious student had changed over the years out of her head.

* * *

Sakura was walking to the training grounds in hopes of finding someone she knew to spar with. On her way there, she had bumped into Ino, who was more than excited to see her.

"Hey! Forehead-girl! What're you up to?" Ino curiously asked with a smile.

"I'm going to the training grounds, Ino-pig," Sakura replied, obviously bored. "Wanna come with?"

"Uh…Sure! I have nothing to do today anyway, but let me tell you right now," Ino wagged a finger at Sakura, "I refuse to do any training, I just did my nails!" Ino whined.

Sakura just had to chuckle a little at her best friend's silly concerns and they both made their way to the training grounds.

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were already at the grounds. Kakashi had challenged Sasuke to a quick session, seeing that he got permission to train two times a week while under house arrest, and Sasuke took on that challenge.

Naruto sat in the shade under a tree, watching his teammates until it was his turn to train. Sasuke and Kakashi were still sparring when Naruto noticed Sakura and Ino walking over to him. He flashed the two girls a grin as they came over and stood by Naruto and watched the other two men.

"Hehhh? Sasuke-kun sure has gotten faster, hasn't he?" Ino said with a tone of admiration. Of course she wasn't in love with him anymore, like back in her childhood days. She just thought of him as a talented person and admired him.

"Who? The teme? Pfft, I kicked his ass at this not too long ago. He's gotten slower if you ask me." Naruto gloated, "By the way Sakura, how do you feel?" He asked with a smile playing his lips.

Sakura glanced over at Naruto before replying softly with, "I'm much better, thanks, Naruto." She smiled a small, fleeting smile and closed her eyes, trying not to let the blood rush to her cheeks after last night.

After a few moments of watching Kakashi and Sasuke, Naruto piped up excitedly, "Ne, Sakuraaaa-chan," Naruto stood up and grinned, "wanna do a little sparring with me?"

"Hmmm?" Sakura once again glanced at Naruto, and then smirked, "Sure, you're on."

Naruto started walking over to an open section of the training ground while Sakura discarded her unnecessary equipment and only kept what she wanted. She took her hitai-ate off from her head and used it as a blindfold around her eyes. With that, she added on long black gloves with a metal guard on each one.

Sakura walked over to Naruto and started taking her stance. Naruto, however, was confused and asked her, "Sakura, what are you doing? How can you fight if you can't see?"

Sakura replied back, "This is how Tsunade-shishou has always trained me. She said if I train with a blindfold, it would help make my senses keener," she smirked, "how do you think I became an ANBU?"

It was Naruto's turn to smirk, _hmmm? Not bad._

Naruto soon positioned himself into a defensive stance, seeing that Sakura was going into offensive. "Ready?" He asked.

Sakura gave a sly smile, "You better not go easy on me."

"Go." Naruto replied back, excited to see exactly how much Sakura had improved.

After Naruto had said that single word, both shinobis had disappeared. However, a short few milliseconds later, the clanging of metal could be heard in the air as Sakura's metal arm guard met Naruto's as he blocked her punch. Within a blink of an eye, both once again disappeared. This time however, instead of meeting each other at the same time, Sakura got to Naruto first and threw a series of punches and kicks at him.

She wasn't going to give Naruto any opening where he could retaliate. Nope, she was going to be fully on the offensive. Naruto was in shock at first, he hadn't expected her to be so fast with a _blindfold _on. He had no choice but to keep jumping back every time she attacked, he could sense the chakra that had gathered in her hands, and he was _not _willing to get hit by her bone shattering punches.

Ino was watching Naruto and Sakura, her mouth open as she stood there in shock. _S-sugoi, _was the only thought that came to her mind when she saw how much Sakura had improved.

Up until now, no one had ever seen Sakura train seriously, except Tsunade and Shizune. She would never show her true abilities when sparring with her other friends. But she felt obliged to show her teammates today how much determination was poured into her hard work.

For a long time, all that could be seen were flashes and blurs of pink and blonde hair. Every now and then, they would stop and stand in stance in front of each other to catch their breath, beads of sweat rolling down Naruto's handsome features and Sakura's porcelain skin. Then, without warning, they would start the same routine again. Naruto would attack for a while, and Sakura would be defending, and then the roles switch as they force each other to their limits.

Sakura's hair tie had slipped off in the middle of her sparring, and her long pink hair flowed in every which direction, since she didn't stay in one spot for too long. But she paid no attention to it; her mind focused on only one thing, she could now keep up with Naruto.

Sensing Naruto's increasing speed and chakra from behind her, she quickly turned around and threw her leg into the air to block Naruto's kick. She heard a quiet crunch. She had injected chakra from her leg into his on that last kick and it seemed that Naruto now had a fracture.

"That's enough for today," came Kakashi's voice. Sasuke and him had long ago finished their practice, and had been watching Naruto and Sakura the whole time.

Naruto and Sakura both nodded. Sakura removed her blindfold and quickly went over to Naruto to heal his injury. She suppressed her chakra into her hands so that they were glowing green and bent down to mend the fracture back into its original form. During the whole process, Naruto had been looking down at her, with admiration and a sincere smile on his face. _You've gotten stronger, Sakura-chan._

However, Naruto wasn't the only one thinking that same exact thought. Everyone else that had just witnessed her had that same thought running through their heads. Sakura had kept her training and skills to herself for three long years, only to finally unleash her newly obtained prowess, to prove to everyone that she can indeed become the best kunoichi the village had ever seen.

An unseen tension among the male members of Team 7 had seemed to disappear after observing their female teammate. They felt proud of her for overcoming her weakness and proving every bastard that thought she was weak, wrong. Even though she didn't show it, Sakura couldn't stop herself from smirking inwardly, knowing she had finally gained a sense of respect from her team, and obtaining the knowledge that they no longer would need to always protect her. A feeling of satisfaction ran through her entire body.

They all had taken time to rest from their intense workout. Maintaining such speed seemed to have a big effect on Naruto and Sakura's bodies. Despite their tiredness, Naruto couldn't help but be attracted to this new stronger physique that Sakura showed off today. He had known that she grew stronger, but he never got the chance to test exactly how strong. Naruto couldn't wipe that stupid smile off his face as he glanced over Sakura's resting form against the tree.

Sakura was leaning against the tree, her eyes closed, taking in the serene atmosphere. Ino had already left, saying she had to tend to the flower shop. Now it was just Sakura and her teammates. She had forgotten how good it felt to be surrounded by people you practically considered family. She almost, _almost _forgot about the many painful experiences she had to go through to keep her family together.

She had to let go of her childish grip on Sasuke, had to fight with her emotions after being heartbroken twice. She had to sacrifice her true love for Naruto, so he wouldn't feel guilty. She had to work a thousand times harder than everyone else so she could prove herself to her team. And now, after going through things that she was too young for, she had built a strong wall around her heart, around her exterior, but deep inside, she was breaking into pieces..

But she doesn't know yet that Naruto would be the one to glue them back together.

* * *

**End of Chapter 4! I think I kinda failed this one, but I'll try to make it better next time! So please bear with me?**

**And once again, I'm so thankful for the positive reviews you guys are giving me, it makes me happy to see that my story isn't too bad :D**

**Please review and let me know how this chapter was :D**


	5. New Truths

**A/N: Phew, can you believe I'm already starting to get lazy? This isn't goood! I'll try to update every other day or two days from now on! **

**But other than that, thank you for the reviews :D**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I'd be happily married to him already! But I obviously don't! :D**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Later that day, Sakura had been forced to join Team 7's little reunion dinner. Though she wasn't really up to going anywhere, she went anyway because she felt that the rest of Team 7 deserved all the little happy moments they can possibly collect, because you never know what could happen when living the life of a ninja.

Sakura went home after training and started to freshen up. She looked at herself for a long time in the mirror, the ever present blank expression on her face. She had a long classic black dress and black high heels. The dress had a slit where her thigh was, to make it easy to move in as well as adding an attractive look to the whole ensemble.

Finally, she decided she'd put on some light pink lip gloss and gray eye shadow, courtesy of Ino, so she wouldn't look too boring. Before leaving the mirror and her house as well, she flipped her long hair to one side onto her shoulder. She figured she looked well enough for this little get together.

Surprisingly enough, they were _not _going to Ichiraku's this time, no matter how much Naruto had begged. It had been Kakashi's idea to go to a more formal and expensive restaurant.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke were already near the entrance of the restaurant. Kakashi was late, as he had always been; 5 years with his team hadn't affected his punctuality one bit. Sasuke had his usual aloof appearance; however, his face showed a bit of impatience. Naruto's habit of leaning against anything that could support his weight was popping up again. He found the nearest wall to him and assumed his stance; one leg on the wall, arms folded, eyes closed as if he was having an internal conflict within himself. He had been the unusually patient one of the two. He had expected this of Kakashi, but not exactly from Sakura.

The heels had made a lot of noise. Both of the male teammates could practically hear her from a mile away. Slowly, they looked up from their casual demeanor, only to have their mouths hanging slightly open. They've never seen this side of Sakura, and from the way she fidgeted under their stares showed that she was obviously uncomfortable with her closest teammates practically undressing her with their eyes. But of course, she knew neither of them was like that, atleast…she hoped not.

Eventually, both males composed themselves once again and felt a little embarrassed at their naivety. _I mean, she's not the first girl I've seen in a dress, _Sasuke thought. _But she's the first woman, _Naruto finished in his own mind.

Sasuke and Naruto weren't too badly dressed themselves, either. Sasuke had a white dress shirt with a black coat and black pants. Naruto, however, seemed to catch Sakura's eyes. He had a full sleeved orange dress shirt with a gray button up vest over and a black tie, along with black pants. His hair still seemed to spike in every which way, but with the same apparel as the Fourth Hokage, he could catch practically every girl's eyes. _Somehow, he seems more attractive than before, _Sakura found herself thinking.

"You look amazing, Sakura." Naruto finally got a coherent thought and made it into a sentence.

"Uh, thank you…Naruto," she just had to blush at the way he was looking at her; he was still in the same position, except this time, he had his eyes open and was looking at her with such an intensity that she couldn't pull her own eyes away from his. And that damn smirk on his face didn't make his features any less handsome.

Sasuke, on the other hand, made no plans of intruding upon the "soon-to-be married and happily-ever-after couple". Oh, how he desperately wanted Kakashi to show up and save him from this strange uncomforting air that he felt.

Ten minutes of nothing but silence later and with a POOF, Kakashi had made his grand entrance.

"Sorry I'm late guys, a poor kitten was crossing the-"

"Kaka-sensei, save it." Sakura cut him off.

Kakashi chuckled, like he always did when he felt nostalgia, but this time he chuckled at the way that Sakura still kept the childish nickname she always used to call him with. Kakashi was wearing an outfit similar to that of Sasuke's, except he had a navy blue dress shirt and a silver tie, but no coat.

"If everyone is done chatting," Sasuke cut in, "I'd like to sit down and eat now."

Realizing that Sasuke was right after hearing the rumble of their own stomachs, everyone proceeded to go into the restaurant, finding their table and sitting down. The table was round so everyone had a good view of each other else. Sakura and Naruto had unconsciously chosen their seats to be right next to each other; it almost felt like a natural routine to the both of them, as if they've been picking to be right next to each other all their lives.

As they ordered, impatience started growing onto Sakura's face. She sighed, put her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands; a stance that Sasuke often took in their younger days. She closed her eyes and tried to think. But about what? Even she didn't know. Her left eye opened slightly and she glanced at Naruto. He was in his trademark stance, hands behind his head and leaning back into the chair. Apparently he had been looking at Sakura too because they exchanged glances. Sakura quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed that she was caught looking at him; but she would never show what she felt, of course.

The evening dinner somehow naturally fell into a comfortable atmosphere between all of the team members. Kakashi was cracking jokes that seemed to capture a few smiles and smirks from his former students, as they waited for their food to be served.

Finally, the food was served and for some strange reason, the conversations seemed to increase.

"Sensei, how come Sai and Captain Yamato aren't here? Aren't they part of Team 7 now, too?" Naruto asked as he ate.

"Well, they've been assigned a mission just this morning by Tsunade-sama." Kakashi replied dryly, "Apparently, she's been moody lately." Kakashi sighed and sweat-dropped. Naruto didn't even want to imagine the grandma barking orders at every ninja she could get her hands on.

Sakura seemed to space out as she poked at her food. Naruto and Kakashi both noticed this and waited for the other to say something. When neither of them said something, they both miraculously said at the same time, "Sakura, your food is gonna get cold."

Upon realizing what she had been doing, Sakura snapped out of her reverie and looked up to both of them and gave them an apologetic look. Why was Sakura so affected by Naruto, when he was just sitting next to her? She grew angry on the inside; she hated herself for not being able to get over him. But what she didn't know was that Naruto was even more affected by her presence. He was filled with regret and guilt; it had taken him this long to see that Sakura really did love him, and that it wasn't all just confusion in her heart. He so badly wanted to just wrap his arms around her and say, "I'm so sorry for everything, it'll be okay from now on," and just hope that she'll forgive him. But he couldn't risk that, not here, not now.

Kakashi and Sasuke had started a small conversation about battle strategies and were completely unaware of what was going on with the other two people they were here with.

Naruto tried talking to Sakura, "Hey, Sakura."

"Hm?"

"I know it's a bit random to say this and all…but you sure have gotten stronger." Naruto's face softened as he looked at her, trying to read what she was thinking.

A small smile found its way onto Sakura's face.

"I'm glad…you noticed."

Naruto chuckled, "How can I not? You almost broke my leg, remember?" he jokingly accused her by pointing at her with his fork.

"Narutooo, don't be a cry baby now." Sakura almost laughed at his pouting face, but then again, she didn't want to lose her composure.

But he went back to a serious tone, "But Sakura, I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Why did you change so much?" He was almost scared to look at her face, to see the pain clouding behind her eyes, but he had to.

"You of all people should know why." She quietly whispered, not looking him in the eyes.

Naruto looked down at his plate, "I figured so. But Sakura, I…I'm starting to see what you were trying to say, back then."

Sakura was in shock. What did he mean by that?

"What are you trying to say Naruto?" She asked carefully, trying to hide any signs of hope from entering into her eyes.

"I'm saying…that I shouldn't have done that…that maybe I was just in denial." But he looked up at her once more, with gentle eyes, "I've always believed you," he added softly. "Deep down, I wanted to return those feelings, but…" he took her hand and was a bit sad at the way she stiffened at his touch, "but I didn't want either of us getting hurt. I thought you would go back to Sasuke once I brought him back. I'm sorry Sakura, for waiting this long. Really, I am."

Sakura was at a loss for words. She had heard almost everything she's always wanted to hear from Naruto. But she couldn't bring herself to show her true feelings again. She tried. She wanted to tell him everything, all over again, and this time she knew he'd return everything. But the words lingered in her throat and never left her mouth.

She nodded and took her hand back, looking away from his eyes. She'll wait for a more appropriate time.

Naruto, understanding that she wasn't ready to feel such emotions again, let her hand slip away from his. _But next time, _he told himself, _I won't be letting you slip away from me so easily. Next time, I'll hold onto you forever._

Sasuke and Kakashi had gone outside for a smoke long ago, but it's not like Naruto and Sakura had noticed; they were too busy in their own little world.

Suddenly, a POOF appeared right on their table. Once the smoke cleared away, Sakura recognized that it was Lady Katsuyu, Tsunade's slug that she had made a blood-pact with.

Hurriedly, the snail spoke up, "Sakura-sama! Naruto-kun! Tsunade-sama wants you both to report to her office. It seems an important mission has been brought up, one that specifically needs both of your skills."

Sakura and Naruto quickly stood up, nodding in understanding.

"Please, hurry! It's very important and….and there isn't much time left." Lady Katsuyu continued.

A slight look of worry was seen in both of their eyes as they made quick of their time and ran over to the Hokage's tower.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura nearly burst open into Tsunade's office, but had enough common sense to just teleport inside once they could see the tower from where they were.

Tsunade immediately turned her attention to them, knowing that she had little time to explain everything to her two favorite ANBU protégés, although she wasn't allowed to pick favorites, but no one had to know.

Tsunade made no waste of her time, she began briefing them and catching them up with recent events from earlier that day,

"Sakura, Naruto, I need both of you to do an assassination mission. It is strictly A-rank and the only reason I picked both of you is because of your highly skilled teamwork." She looked at them both for a moment, making sure they understood what they were facing with such a mission.

She continued, "You are very, VERY familiar with the person that needs to be assassinated, I'm afraid. But don't worry," She looked over both of them once again, "I'm sure you both would be more than happy to get rid of this person."

Naruto looked confused but decided to let her finish and ask questions later. He knew how to handle assassination missions, but he was surprised at the fact that it was someone they knew; he had never killed a familiar face before. Moreover, Sakura was to go with him, which meant only one thing; the person they were dealing with was known for doing unimaginable damage, seeing that Sakura was the best medic and perfect for that situation.

"This is more than top secret; make sure you two understand that. No one, I mean absolutely no one is to know that you are going on an assassination mission, let alone _who_ it is that you are killing. If it comes down to it, you will even lie to your friends about what kind of mission this is." Tsunade started looking for a file on her desk.

Once she found it, she continued impatiently, "Any questions before you receive your assignment?"

Naruto was the first to speak up, "Exactly why are we in such a hurry?"

"No Naruto, you were in a hurry to get here and get filled in before I tell you what to do next. But this next part doesn't involve you." She looked over at Sakura, "It involves _you._"

"What do I need to do, shishou?"

"Sakura. Kurenai is…trapped in a difficult genjutsu." Sadness glazed her eyes, "Kurenai, our genjutsu _genius_ is going crazy as we speak!" Her anger at the enemy rose up even more as she spoke this.

"And seeing as you excelled in genjutsu as well, I am asking you to find a way to dispel it as soon as you can." Tsunade took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She knew Sakura could do it; she believed in her student.

"Hai. I will do my best, I assure you of that." And with that Sakura turned to hurry down to the underground sealing room at the hospital.

Naruto received the mission file and was about to turn to leave when Tsunade's voice stopped him.

"Naruto," she looked concerned, "please watch over Sakura during this mission. I feel that she might be in more danger than you."

"B-but why?" Naruto was so extremely close to shouting at Tsunade for sending Sakura with him if she had a higher chance of getting killed than Naruto himself.

"Because she is the one being targeted."

* * *

**And the plot thickens! Dun, dun dun. Lol jk(: Believe it or not...I'm still trying to work on it more -_- In the meantime, I'm basically making it up as I go along :D **

**But anyways, thank you guys for the reviews! I really appreciate it and if there are any hints you can give me on how to make it better, please do tell! But I don't really want help with the _plot_, I need help in writing better stories -_- sighh, this chapter kinda sucked :[ **

**But reviews are appreciated! :D and thanks for taking the time to read this!**


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